NY Photographs 2014 Highlights

PHILLIPS ANNOUNCES HIGHLIGHTS FROM ITS NEW YORK FALL PHOTOGRAPHS VARIOUS OWNERS SALE

WORKS BY HELMUT NEWTON, HIROSHI SUGIMOTO, RICHARD AVEDON, MAN RAY, DORA MAAR, SALLY MANN, LÁSZLÓ MOHOLY-NAGY, ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE, IRVING PENN, ALFRED STIEGLITZ, DAVID HOCKNEY, EDWARD WESTON AND ROBERT ADAMS LEAD SALE OF IMPORTANT PHOTOGRAPHS

AUCTION: 1 OCTOBER 2014 10AM & 2PM
GENERAL VIEWING: 20–30 September 2014
LOCATION: Phillips 450 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK – 9 SEPTEMBER 2014 – Phillips is thrilled to launch its various owners Fall Photographs sale with strong examples by many of the leading photographers of the 20th century. The Auction features 218 lots with a pre-sale low estimate of $4,303,500/ £2,635,737/ €3,322,730 and a pre-sale high estimate of $6,134,500 / £3,757,158 / €4,736,444. The sale will immediately follow Photographs from the Collection of The Art Institute of Chicago.

A superb highlight in the various-owners sale is Helmut Newton’s Private Property: Suites I, II and III, 1984, estimated at $350,000-450,000. The three suites present a rare opportunity to acquire forty-five of Newton’s most lauded images, including Sie Kommen; Elsa Pereti, bunny; and Self-portrait with wife and models, Paris. Collectively the works provide an excellent overview of the trailblazing style that helped catapult Newton to the forefront of fashion photography. Another important highlight is Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Tyrrhenian Sea, Mount Polo (Morning, day, night), 1993, estimated at $150,000-200,000. As the only triptych from Sugimoto’s acclaimed Seascapes series, the work presents a hauntingly beautiful and deeply conceptual meditation on the beginning of time. The prolonged exposure in each frame results in a blurring between sea and sky, creating a majestic, primordial sequence.

An additional strong highlight is Richard Avedon’s Francis Bacon, artist, Paris, April 11, 1979, estimated at $120,000-180,000. As one of the most perceptive portraitists in 20th-century photography, Avedon’s image provides a dual glimpse of Bacon—up close and engaging in one, removed and contemplative in the other—alluding to the artist’s deeply personalized and conflicted body of work. Other important portraits in the sale include Man Ray’s Untitled (Natasha), 1931, estimated at $80,000-120,000, a quintessentially Surrealist example of a solarized negative, a style pioneered by Man Ray; Dora Maar’s Profile portrait with glasses and hat, 1930s, estimated at $80,000-120,000, which presents a rare-to-the-market work in Maar’s relatively brief foray into photography, likely created after her introduction to her paramour, Pablo Picasso; and Sally Mann’s Candy Cigarette, 1989, estimated $80,000-120,000, portraying the tensions and pretenses belying the seemingly smooth surface of childhood.

Classic photographs will be represented with László Moholy-Nagy, Untitled, 1939-1941, estimated at $70,000-90,000, reflecting the avant-garde artist’s experimentation with light and space, expanding the boundaries of the medium during one of the most fertile periods in European photography. Other early highlights include Alfred Stieglitz’s Modernist masterpiece The Steerage, 1907, featuring a rare signature by the artist on the overmat; Edward Weston’s Bananas, 1930, estimated $60,000-80,000, an early lifetime print created at the height of Weston’s studying of form through abstractions of fruit and vegetables; Hans Bellmer’s full book of Les Jeux de la Poupée (The games of the doll), 1949, estimated at $50,000-70,000; and Diane Arbus’s Baseball game in Central Park, N.Y.C., 1962, the first time this playful image comes up for auction as a lifetime print.

Contemporary photographs in the sale will be strongly represented with two works by Robert Mapplethorpe: a platinum print from an edition of one, Tulips, 1987, estimated at $70,000-90,000 and a gelatin silver print of Ken Moody and Robert Sherman, 1984, estimated at $50,000-70,000. Together the two works illustrate the artist’s biggest strengths: timeless floral still-life compositions and Classically-inspired portraits. Other contemporary highlights include Irving Penn’s Kate Moss, New York, 1996, estimated at $70,000-90,000, likewise presenting a Neoclassical-inspired depiction of the female form; David Hockney’s important Cubist-inspired photo collage The Desk, July 1st, 1984, at $60,000-80,000; William Eggleston’s vibrantly colored dye-transfer print Memphis, Tennessee, circa 1972, estimated at $50,000-70,000; and Edward Burtynsky’s awe-inspiring Nickel Tailings #34 and #35, Sudbury, Ontario, 1996, estimated at $40,000-60,000. Other strong contemporary photographers whose works will be featured include Alex Prager, Vik Muniz, Ahmet Ertug, and Ruud Van Empel, among others.

The sale will include a special section entitled Photographs from an Important East Coast Collection, which features twelve desirable works by Robert Adams, including Berthoud, Colorado, 1968, at $30,000-50,000 and Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1968, at $25,000-35,000. Together, the twelve works present a compelling, charming and engaging overview of the modernized American West. Another special section includes selections from the legendary The Famous Photographers School. The photographs are all from the School’s archives and originally gifted by the founding teachers of the school, including Irving Penn, Alfred Eisenstaedt and Philippe Halsman, among others.

PHILLIPS:
As the only international auction house to concentrate exclusively on contemporary culture, Phillips has established a commanding position in the sale of Photographs, Contemporary Art, Design, Editions and Jewelry. Through the passionate dedication of its team of global specialists, the company has garnered an unparalleled wealth of knowledge of emerging market trends. Founded in London in 1796, Phillips conducts auctions in New York and London and has representative offices throughout Europe and in the United States. For more information, please visit: phillips.com.